How many guys? Five

What did you do this Memorial Day Weekend?


I ate burgers. Friday I was at the 3rd St. Grill (see previous post). Sunday I buzzed on over to another place I like – Five Guys Burgers and Fries (http://www.fiveguys.com/)

I had thought the only location here in the county was down at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Had I consulted the web-link (which I provided for your convenience; you’re welcome), I would have seen they have a location near UTC in the Costa Verde Plaza Shopping Center. Actually it appears there are 4 or 5 here in the county.

Anyhoo, Point Loma was the one we’ve been to 3 times now.

We decided to hit the Koby’s Swap Meet, since it is down in the same area.

After buying a 3 dollar belt, and a 4 dollar hat, we arrived in the area at about 12:10PM. I knew the church called The Rock (mammoth place, huge following) has services at 8AM, 10AM, and noon. So I was kind of surprised that large amounts of people were still heading over there even at ten past the hour. I guess their Lord isn’t overly concerned with punctuality.

The menu is glorious in its simplicity. Big burgers, little burgers, hot dogs, fries, big sodas, little sodas. Oh, and a few veggie sandwich options for those folks who don’t understand that we have both molars and flesh-tearing front teeth for a reason.

One of the first things that greet you upon entry is a big tub of peanuts. They have little trays to scoop some into. The first time I was there, I sat down with the peanuts and begin throwing the shells onto the ground. After my forth or fifth shell casing, my wife (who was more observant that I) point out that nobody else was throwing them onto the floor. I looked around and realized she was right. I quickly scooted the shells under the table with my shoe.

But I have since learned the error of my ways.

We didn’t get fries on this visit. The first time we ordered a small serving of their “Five Guys Style” and a small serving of the “Cajun Style”. (Side note – I knew a lady whose dad was from the swamps of Louisiana. The term ‘Cajun’ used to be a put-down. It meant you were illiterate, uncouth, swamp trash.)

Be warned – a “small” serving means they take a small cup of fries, put it in a brown bag, then pour a huge amount more on top of it.

So getting a small order of each meant we got a huge bag of fries. We had so many, that we ended up taking a bunch home. My goat got to enjoy them several hours later.

The second time, we had learned our lesson, and got one small order of the Cajun Style. Still a huge amount, and we carried a bag out the door. A homeless guy on the corner got those extra fries.

The reason we didn’t get any fries on this visit is that we just don’t care for them that much. When they are first served, they are good. But as they sit, they get really heavy. The menu brags about the fact that they use pure peanut oil. Maybe that oil gets heavy as they cool. I don’t know. Besides, with the free peanuts, you can just make that your side.

Also on this visit, I didn’t get a hot dog. I love their bacon-cheese dogs. The only reason I passed this time because we had a big funnel cake at the swap meet moments before this visit.

So Mrs. Babblings and I each got a big bacon-cheeseburger on this visit. Their patties are kind of small, but they use two of them for the large burger.

You name your toppings at the counter. I had lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and jalapenos.

When my number was called, the young girl called me “sweatheart” and “hun” (short for honey). It didn’t sound fake (some people can say it and it sounds natural; she was one of those people). At first I thought, “Wow, that young chick digs me.” But then I caught my pear-shaped reflection in the window and realized she was probably just being nice.

The burgers are freakin’ delicious. You get yummy melted cheese in every bite.  It appears that they use four slices.  It’s a race to get the burger consumed before the bakery-fresh roll is destroyed. But that’s what the extra napkins are for.

The bill was $15.85 for the two burgers and a fountain soda (that we shared). I am having to re-cast my thoughts of what is high-priced. I think my bachelor years of the late 80’s and early 90’s (when I lived on burgers) have caused my brain to be somewhat stuck at that level.

The ambiance is a little on the loud side (Those darn whipper-snappers and their loud rock-n-roll!).

All-in-all, we have enjoyed all three visits. And I am very excited to learn of the location a little closer to us. Can’t wait to hit that.

If you haven’t tried Five Guys yet, what are you waiting for – get in there!

Lew B.